Jokowi: Soon We Will State The Pandemic Is Ending!

Photo: BPMI Setpres/cris

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo said the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia would soon be revoked. The plan to transition the status of the pandemic to an endemic is suspected to be a condition where cases have begun to subside.

This was conveyed by Jokowi during the launch of the Inclusive Partnership Movement for MSMEs to Rise Class in Jakarta.

"The pandemic has indeed begun to subside. Maybe soon we will declare that the pandemic is over," Jokowi was quoted as saying on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube, Monday, October 3.

Although the health crisis has improved, Jokowi stressed that the current world economic situation is in a position that is not doing well. The economic condition of all countries is in a very difficult position.

"The post-pandemic economic recovery has not returned to normal, but it is getting worse because apart from the pandemic, it is added because of the war in Ukraine. We know that there is currently a food crisis, an energy crisis, a financial crisis is happening," said Jokowi.

For information, Indonesia is preparing for the COVID-19 endemic. Preparations for releasing the status of this pandemic will begin in stages in early 2023. This is based on the COVID-19 assessment parameters that continue to slope.

However, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Mohammad Syahril, said that vigilance against the possibility of mutations of the virus was still being carried out. Given, currently there are 8 provinces that have experienced an increase in cases.

"There are still 8 provinces in Indonesia that have experienced an increase in cases over the past week, namely the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Bangka Belitung, North Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, West Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and Main Sulawesi. Meanwhile, 26 other provinces have decreased daily cases," said Syahril.

Nationally, the sloping of COVID-19 cases is based on a number of parameters, ranging from the number of cases to the use of COVID-19 treatment beds.

The first parameter saw a decline in weekly confirmed cases since August the third week. Currently, the average daily number of COVID-19 cases is around 2,000 cases. This is accompanied by a decrease in weekly positivity rate to 6.38 percent in the last week.

Likewise, deaths have also decreased to 123 per week, or the average is below 20 per day.

Syahril continued, the decline in the number of cases was also accompanied by a decrease in the number of treatments for COVID-19 patients in hospitals, where BOR continued to decline from 5 percent on September 10 to 4.83 percent at this time. Likewise, daily cases with positivity rates tend to sag in the past month.

"According to the announcement of the WHO Director-General, currently the whole world has faced an encouraging period because signs of the disappearance of the COVID pandemic are starting to appear, including in Indonesia," he explained.

On that occasion, Syahril revealed that Indonesia adopted six WHO strategies towards an endemic starting from communicating risks through socialization to the public that the COVID-19 pandemic was still at risk.

Second, vaccinating doses 1, dose 2 to vaccination boosters. Next, ensure the health service system from upstream to downstream in anticipation of a spike in cases, as well as comprehensive and continuous control efforts.